100th UK manufacturer achieves Fit For Nuclear

Precision engineering group Paul Fabrications has become the 100th UK manufacturing company to prove its readiness for civil nuclear work through the Nuclear AMRC's Fit For Nuclear programme.

Delivered exclusively by the Nuclear AMRC, Fit For Nuclear (F4N) is a service to help manufacturing companies test and develop their readiness to bid for work in the civil nuclear supply chain.

Paul Fabrications – based in Castle Donington and part of the global AGC AeroComposites group – is the 100th company to complete the F4N programme by benchmarking its performance against the standards demanded by the civil nuclear industry's top tiers, and driving business improvements through a tailored action plan.

The company has over 50 years' experience in the civil nuclear sector and currently specialises in manufacturing intricate components for the fuel assemblies used in the UK's current fleet of advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs). With the AGR fleet approaching the end of its service life, the company is looking to replace this revenue stream and increase its offering to the wider nuclear industry.

Peter Tryner, nuclear operations manager at Paul Fabrications commented: "The pressure on us is to look for new work in the nuclear sector. There's a world of work to be had in the nuclear area that we have the capabilities on this site to undertake."

F4N support has helped the company drive continuing improvements to its business processes and understand the opportunities of the wider nuclear market including new build and decommissioning. F4N also gives Paul Fabrications an industry-recognised hallmark to demonstrate its readiness for nuclear work, and allows the firm to tap into the Nuclear AMRC's collaborative network and sector expertise to help identify opportunities and build new relationships with potential clients.

Wayne Exton, chief executive officer at AGC AeroComposites, said: "Fit For Nuclear has opened doors for us which we have not really been privy to in the past. This is a relatively slow moving industry compared to others, but we have been part of the nuclear sector for a long time; we want to be part of it, and we're prepared to invest.”

Martin Ride, lead nuclear specialist for the F4N programme added: “Paul Fabrications is a tremendous Fit For Nuclear company with a clear understanding of what it really takes to work in nuclear. By building on its experience of working for a leading UK customer in the current nuclear fleet, the company has set a very high standard.”

Fit For Nuclear www.namrc.co.uk/services/f4n

 

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